r/restoration

I found this beautiful chandelier today and would love to refresh it. Mine has these brown streaks which seem to not be there originally. I found some similar chandeliers (picture 3 and 4) which are fully cleaned and show more striking colours. After using some soft cleaners on one of the arms, I realised that the streaks can be cleaned off but only very sensibly.

The material is metal, some of the petals can be rearranged, so it is a bit softer at some parts but sturdy in others. Some of the online descriptions of other models mentioned porcelain as well. The fake candles are plastic and could be easily cleaned.

I am looking for recommendations on how to properly clean the chandelier and which cleaning supplies to use so it does not loose its original charm. The colourful pedals seem to be more sensitive since the yellow colour tended to be rubbed off a bit too easy.

Thank you so much!

Client cabinet, not mine. Came in solid, no repairs needed, they just didn't like the color anymore.

Stripped the whole exterior and re-toned it to a dark slate. Looks basically black indoors, goes blue-gray when the sun hits it. Left the interior in the original cherry on purpose so it still glows through the glass. That contrast was the whole point of the job.

Took all the panes and hardware out before starting. On glazed doors thats not optional in my opinion, you can always see where somebody masked around fixed glass, theres a ridge at the muntin and it never looks right.

Only tricky part was keeping the molding profile even. End grain on those profiles drinks color faster than the flat faces so you have to build it up slow or you get blotching in the coves.

Anyway, happy with how the two tone landed. Curious if anyone else does the dark outside light inside thing on glazed pieces or if you tend to take the interior dark too.

Got this lovely piece of italian ware from an antique store £10 but the keys are sticky and the carriage doesn’t progress.

I think I managed to move the carriage but forgot how, the spacebar doesn’t do anything when pressed the letters all print in a pile.

Id much rather the advice from some seasoned human experts than AI so I thought id post this on here.

I would love to get it working to be my first typewriter as I love its charm but not sure where to start, ive been giving it a clean of its gunk and dust with some wet wipes but not sure where to go next.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm looking to restore this one of a kind antique captain's trunk (was told it's pre wwII) and would like some advice. I have already washed it down and lightly sanded it, but I'm looking to repaint the original design back on it and I'm unsure what paint to use, I was recommended mineral paint, chalk paint, and acrylic paint on google but am unsure which to use if any of those. I would also like to replace the metal hardware due to the orginals being so rusted, but can't find the hardware in stores. I really don't want to mess this trunk up, if anyone has any advice or knows anything about this trunk please let me know thx!

I already started attempting to carefully scrape the dirt out with a needle but it's really stuck in between that plastic covering and the DS body. I really took it with me everywhere as a child, so there's a lot of sand crusted in there.

And whatever is in the back hinge (3rd pic) I assume is old mold. It's really baked on there. Can't even move it with a needle...

And do y'all think I could go on there with an alcohol solution to start softening stuff up or will I disturb the DS?

I really wanna start using it again, and aside from the dirt and a defective battery it's still in mint condition! (The battery will be taken from a different DS that's broken everywhere except the battery xD)

Just found this copper cauldron at a goodwill for $4 thought it was a steal and that the copper is overcooked from use. It’s very worn and definitely needs to be re-tinned. Is it possible to fix up the exterior and is it worth it? It’s got a good weight to it and would be cool to use occasionally/ display. New to this and anything helps!

hi all this has been the last straw in a long week :( it’s about 2 inches long and is torn 3 ways but not to the edge. I foolishly knocked something on to it while it was sitting on carpet hence why it’s punctured. It’s quite thick which is why i’m guessing it ripped instead of flexing. Has a matte smooth finish that reminds me of nice construction paper. I would like to replace it but it’s signed and I don’t have the budget to acquire another copy or seek out professional repairs 

Is it possible that this vase can be fixed somehow? It’s very thick and I’m surprised that this has happened, because I don’t usually move it from place, it had water and flowers, by the time I realized the water was no longer there and it seemed as if it had evaporated, there was nothing wet around

Hello! Im looking for an original Volvo C303/TGB 11 Swedish military camouflage pattern/template. Does anyone have a stencil, PDF, SVG, DXF, or similar file? Does anyone have anything I could give the painter as a reference? Sadly google didn’t give any answers. I’d appreciate anything! The pattern is shown on the picture.

All right. So I got this shelf out of the break room. I guess a previous teacher tossed it. I was wondering if there’s any way to salvage it. It’s got rust on the metal parts and the individual shelves have this old contact paper which is peeling.

What do y’all think? Can I clean this? I’m mainly worried about the rust. I don’t want any of my students needing a tetanus shot or something.

Is it worth the time?

100% wool for the seats and soap treatment for the wood.

Between 2018 and 2023, my wife and I spent about 9000 hours of our time, completely restoring our 50 foot sailboat. We did all the work ourselves, pouring in everything we had into the project. We are happy with the result and today are living aboard while we sail the boat around the world. Feel free to ask questions :)

Edit: Wow! thank you for the overwhelmingly positive comments here everyone. It is very humbling. If anyone wants to see more photos of our project, if you scroll down on our instagram page @trim.sailing, you will see progress posts as we were building the boat in real time.

My girlfriend received this bench from her grandma a few years ago. As soon as I laid eyes on this bench I could immediately see the potential. It was heavily weathered and loose but the bones were solid. Plus 98% of the hardware were still present and in great shape. Well we finally got around to getting it restoring it and it came out beautiful! Its been about a decade since I personally have done a similar project and forgot how much I love the process. All of the wood is still the original, we just sanded it down, stained it, and put a good 5 layers of a glossy clear coat. The cast iron legs and back we cleaned up real good, used a wire brush drill attachment to clean off as much rust as possible and scuff up the surface, primed it, and used a clear gloss black enamel. We felt it deserved to shine bright after being dull for so long. Super happy with the result and felt like I had to share!

Hi everyone! I’m looking to get my uncles old tools restored for use. They have surface rust/wear but are functional.

Picked these up a while ago in pretty rough shape. Both are German bayonets from the First World War. Both are classics S98/05 “Butcher” type.

Left photo is how they looked when I got them (still dirty but more intact). Right photo is after mechanical cleaning and light conservation — no too much aggressive chemicals, just careful removal of the worst of the rust and scale so the original surfaces and markings could be better seen.

Still a bit of pitting left (especially on the blades), but I’m happy with how much detail came back. The grips and crossguards cleaned up better than expected.

Anyone else here restore or collect WWI German bayonets? Curious what you think of the results and if you can spot any specific makers’ marks or unit stamps I might have missed.

:)

My great-great-grandfather carried this sword in the Civil War, which I recently inherited.

I am curious whether or not I should try and clean/restore it, or leave it as is. It is SHARP, but there is a little rust here and there, which I think some light gun oil will remedy.

Any thoughts?

I intend to mount it in a display case.

I just bought this original 1943 helmet and the mark is disintegrating. How to I stop it? + how do I fix it?

Finished painting everything. Gonna assemble it next week and give it to my dad

I bought this beautiful vintage 1980s coffee table, but it wasn’t created with stability in mind, we entertain a lot so I would love some peace of mind in regards to objects being placed on it, or the occasional leaning. So everything doesn’t come tumbling off of it, especially because I have a very expensive vase I’m planning to put on top.

What sort of surface adherent should I apply between the glass and stone, that isn’t going to drastically alter how beautiful it looks from the top?

Ignore the work in progress apartment details, everything is taking 50 years to ship! Haha.